Cuba Says Western Union's 407 Distribution Points Will Close; Western Union Not Giving Up- 2016 Seems So Long Ago...

Western Union Statement
27 October 2020

“Our goal is to continue providing essential money transfer services to customers, many of whom rely on remittances from loved ones to meet day-to-day needs. Western Union is committed to adhering to all government regulations. We are exploring ways to comply with the new rules and regulations on Cuba. We will provide additional information as we formalize those plans. In the meantime, Western Union services between the U.S. and Cuba remain operational. U.S. customers can send money directly to family members in Cuba from our retail locations, or digitally via westernunion.com or the Western Union mobile app, for payout at more than 400 retail locations in Cuba.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Havana, Republic of Cuba
27 October 2020

”The inclusion of Fincimex in the list of restricted entities of the US State Department in June last, as well as the Treasury Department’s modifications to the regulations for the control of Cuban assets announced on Friday, October 23, will prevent remittances to Cuba through US companies with general licenses, which will directly harm the Cuban people and their relatives in the US. Doing so in the middle of a pandemic corroborates the US government’s cynicism, opportunism and contempt for the Cuban people.

For more than 20 years, with professionalism and respect, Financiera Cimex S.A. has guaranteed commercial relations with companies from the US and elsewhere in the world to manage remittances to Cuba. In all these years, never has this company had to account for a single cent missing. Quite on the contrary, all its services have continued to grow, despite the pressures and aggressions against banking transactions. Family remittances to Cuba have been continuously politicized by the anti-Cuban extreme right. As from September, 2019, the US government has been applying coercive measures to restrict remittances.

The recently announced measures are a direct attack against family remittances. Washington spokespersons are lying when trying to pretend that the aforementioned restrictions will only affect one specific entity. Fincimex, which is part of the Cuban financial system, is the entity designated by a sovereign decision of the Cuban government, to guarantee the remittances to Cuba from the United States, which will be completely discontinued. Among the US counterparts is Western Union, an entity whose 407 outlets in Cuba, scattered all around the country, will be shut down as a result of the implementation of these brutal measures, which will also hamper the negotiations that, at the request of Fincimex, had been taking place for some months now, in preparation for the launching of the hard currency bank accounts remittances service. It falls upon the US government the full responsibility for the interruption of the remittances service between both countries. Most of the Cuban émigrés in the United States support the existence of stable relations with their families, and the US government is deliberately acting to damage those relations. Fincimex reiterates its commitment to the Cuban people in the interest of identifying and establishing safe and orderly remittances to Cuba.”

Corporacion CIMEX S.A. Post To Twitter
30 October 2020

Western Union Expands in Cuba: Connects the World
March 21, 2016

For the first time Western Union to move money into Cuba from beyond U.S. borders

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payments services, announced today that it will launch remittance services from across the world into Cuba following U.S. regulatory and policy changes that allow Cubans and non-Cubans to send remittances via Western Union to this island nation.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160321005381/en/ Western Union Expands in Cuba: Connects the world (Graphic: Business Wire)

For the first time, Cubans and other citizens worldwide will join their U.S. counterparts to send remittances into Cuba within minutes* using Western Union’s cross-border payments platform. The Company expects to activate services in a phased approach by end of second quarter 2016. “As the first U.S. Company with scale to move money from across the world to Cuba, we welcome the regulatory and policy changes put in place by the U.S. government that allow us to offer these services,” said Odilon Almeida, President of the Americas and European Union. Remittances can be sent to family members and other Cuban nationals for family expenses and personal support for private economic activity.

“It is a privilege to connect Cubans from almost anywhere in the world in a matter of moments to their home community, and it is even more historic to be associated with the anticipated economic multiplier that will come with new injection of remittance flows into Cuba,” Almeida lauded. “As we have found in other parts of the world, expanding remittances will provide a vital opportunity to improve the standard of living for Cuban people, contribute to savings and eventually investment towards small-businesses.” Funds moved by Western Union go directly from the sender to the receiver with no middle intervention. “This represents a powerful catalyst for empowerment and innovation. Our current movement of remittances from the U.S. to Cuba funds regular expenses and micro businesses, driving entrepreneurism, innovation and employment opportunities,” Almeida explains.

Western Union’s global experience has shown that when customers have formalized and convenient access, remittance flows thrive from established and new corridors. Access to convenient financial services in a globalized financial arena is important to the world’s increasingly mobile-workforce and it has proven to be as important to the economic advancement of a nation. Remittance senders from across the world can expect the same in-minutes money transfer speed into Cuba with local currency payout. They can use Western Union’s omni-channel send options -- retail, digital, mobile or bank, where available -- to send money, and in Cuba receivers can pick-up their funds from more than 490 Agent locations across each of Cuba’s 16 provinces and 168 municipalities. This is a significant presence and it is represented by multiple classes of trade – from retail stores to exchange houses.

Background

The Cuban population outside of Cuba is pegged at 1.4 million as of 2015. They reside across North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, EU and CIS countries. Nearly 96% are concentrated in five countries including U.S., Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Canada. However, Cubans reside in as many as 72 countries. Cash remittances to Cuba in 2013 reached US$2.8 billion with 90% originating from the US. Remittances reach 62% of Cuban households, sustain about 90% of the retail market and provide thousands of jobs.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of December 31, 2015, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 500,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to over a billion accounts. In 2015, The Western Union Company completed 262 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82 billion of principal between consumers, and 508 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

https://ir.westernunion.com/news/archived-press-releases/press-release-details/2016/Western-Union-Expands-in-Cuba-Connects-the-World/default.aspx